THE HUNGRY BLACK BAG

Greed has no bounds for this bully goat and his insatiable black bag in Tompert’s tale, which is not so much cumulative as it is avaricious. On market day, Ole Goat is on the prowl; from anyone he encounters he demands their goods, or “I’ll pitch you down this mountain with a butt from my bony, bony head.” One after another, the wares belonging to owl, rabbit, and fox go into the evermore capacious black sack: “There’s always room for more. . . . I’ll never have enough,” howls Ole Goat. By the time the goat challenges a bear who has nothing but his hat to tender, the grasping creature trips over the bloat and winds up in a mud puddle. Tompert’s text offers a crisp backhand to the pox of greed, while Chwast’s artwork is highly demonstrative and engaging. (Picture book. 4-8)